I have a crazy idea. I want to serve New York Style pizza from a take out only place. "I" have never made a NY pizza in my life...but hey! I need to know what you all concider to be the best sauce recipe and dough recipe on this list.

Before I do that I want to learn by doing this at home. First...where do I get a good pizza stone?

How hot...450-550?If anyone has worked in a pizza parlor, what is the minimum I need. Deck oven...Proofer? or Refrigerator.Mixer?

No matter whay type of business you want to start it is always best to try those shoes out. Keep your day job and take a second job working in a pizza place. The extra hours would be long but the people I know in the resturant business work a minimum of 80 hours a week anyway. Even if you change your mind you will have meet new friends. Then again you might find it is the pasion of your life.

As to pizza, I am pretty much a novice. But I do have a solid business and financial background. As a first step, Randy is entirely correct, in fact I would suggest working at more than one place. It sounds like you might be going smaller scale, so what you learn at a Dominos or Papa Johns is not going to directly translate in some cases. Further, what you learn at a single-location joint is just their way of doing it, it might be wise to explore the possibilities. As to "best" sauce and "best" dough, that is a matter of personal preference. If you choose the "best", and it comes out too much like the guy a couple blocks up the street, you might ultimately benefit from "different" more than "best".You also really need to experience a true pizza joint operation because the product will come out different using their commercial equipment than what you can create at home. Having said that, don't give up!! Determine your market and demographic, figure out who your suppliers will be and your product cost, how you will finance it, and learn how a couple places do it. With some insight and good product and location selection you can probably find some success. do remember though that MOST small businesses fail. You need to have all your ducks in a row before you jump in.

Hi, Marcy I also am interested in opening a pizza joint. I have been making pizzas for 3 years now at home. I went to the pizza expo in Las Vegas in March and took a couple of dough making classes from A.I.B. and General Mills, wow what a wake up call. Also spoke with pizza restuarant owners. Your gonna need a mixer, I have been told Hobartp660 is the one to have, i dont think you can substitue for a smaller one, unless you make the dough twice. Pizza dough is a bit tricky at first, so retarding the dough in a cooler(overnight) right after it is mixed and divided is very recommended. Keeping fresh dough is a bit more work and requires time management. I would recommend goning to the pizza expo take a class or 2 itswell worth the $150.00. There are 3 shows throughout the year. New York, Chicago and Las Vegas. Las Vegas is the best i was told, plus you can make a vacation out of it. I also purchased a pizza 101 cd on EBAY. Its very useful. Goodluck

The restaurant business is the hardest business to succeed in. I think most of the restaurants people have dinner in see the staff having fun running around and making it look easy. The people who succeed in a pizza restaurant will have pizza sauce running thru their veins. The people I know that make it have the whole family working the business and do all the work themselves for many years. I wait many years before I ventured into my own business and I now have two foodservice Corp. in Oregon and Washington. I only did what I was strong at and and never ventured into anything that I was weak at. I feel the restaurant Business is something that you live day and night and its not a 9 to 5 job...........take care from a chef of 25 years..............Bill